John -and- Rose
by TheFirebelly
Summary: The Doctor has left Rose for the final time, leaving her alone with a complete and utter stranger...or is he? How will Rose and this new man cope with the real world? Will their love survive? Or will they be ripped apart?
1. Chapter 1

_It's gone….it's gone…._ Rose watched with tears in her eyes as the TARDIS faded from view, carrying with it every hope of seeing The Doctor again. Her knees felt weak and she felt like she was going to collapse, but a firm hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned and looked into….his eyes….Rose ran a hand through her hair.

"Wow…..you look just like him….wow…..umm….this is going to take some getting used to….." There he stood, the perfect clone of The Doctor, created out of his own DNA. There was only one difference. This…man that stood before her…was human. He would grow old and die, as would she.

"Oh, well…..That's good, right? I mean, I am him, he is me…we share memories….I remember everything about you Rose." A tear fell down Rose's cheek and she brushed it away. Then she looked to where the TARDIS had been standing only moments ago. Then she took a deep shuddering breath and let it out slowly.

"Yeah, I suppose…" Her sentence drifted off. The Other Doctor looked like he might speak, but she cut him off. "Well, what should we call you…..after all; we can't call you Doctor…" The Other Doctor beamed.

"Just call me Smith, John Smith, or Doctor John Smith if you prefer" He smiled at Rose, warmth in his eyes, but Rose looked away. John frowned slightly, but he couldn't stay mad, after all that had just happened…..he had just watched her lose the man she loved. Sure, she had feelings for him, and he shared all of his memories, but her heart would always belong to The Doctor. John took her hand "Come on Rose," He whispered "Let's go…..we have a lot to do." Rose nodded, without saying a word, and walked over to her car. It was just where she had left it, but it seemed so strange and unfamiliar, as things always had when travelling with The Doctor. Out of habit she walked to the passenger side door, and rested her hand on the doorknob. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw John standing awkwardly in front of the car.

"Doc-uh….John, aren't you coming?" John ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, yes, well I would of course, but unless driving a car is like driving a TARDIS…." He broke off, but immediately continued "But what the heck? Allons-y" Rose opened her mouth to protest, but John had already jumped into the car and shut the door behind him. Rose sighed and got after him.

"Alright, but if we die…I swear John…..I'll…..I'll" She caught John's eye and stopped.

"Rose, trust me, we've done a lot more dangerous stuff than this, right?" When she didn't respond, John started the car, and put it into drive. _Alright, let's see, two pedals, one presumably for gas, and one for break. Drive, park, reverse. Alright, Allons-y_. Within a few moments they were on the road, ready to take the long drive from Darlig Ulv Stranden to London.

An awkward silence had filled the car, but Rose was too lost in her thoughts to notice. Memories of her and the Doctor swam around in her mind._ "Rose Tyler, defender of the Galaxy" "I could save the world, but lose you." "How long are you going to stay with me?" "Forever" "Rose Tyler, I-" _warm tears rose to her eyes and threatened to spillover. She couldn't break down like this, not in front of John…he was all she had….the only thing that reminded her of The Doctor, that proved he existed. She saw John glancing over at her, and she quickly looked out the window.

"Rose…will you be alright?" The hurt in John's voice pierced her heart like a sword.

"Yeah…I'm fine." Rose took a deep shuddering breath and continued out the window at the passing scenery, looking with glazed eyes. Suddenly, the car came to a jarring halt, causing a few cars around them to honk their horns in protest. Rose flew forward, and was pulled back by her seatbelt.

"What the heck?! Are you MAD? You could have killed-" The look in John's eyes silenced her.

"Look Rose, I know you wish I was The Doctor, but I'm not. I never will be. I may not have a TARDIS and a sonic screwdriver, and I may not be an immortal timelord, but I have something that The Doctor doesn't have. I have you. I will grow old and die, with you. I will never change, _never._ The Doctor in fifty years will have a new face, a new companion, and maybe even a new TARDIS, but in fifty years, I will still have you."

"John I-"

"No, I'm not finished. The Doctor may be a brave man; he fights Daleks almost every other day, he's saved the Earth more times than anyone can count, but I did that too, and I did it with you. In fact, I think I'm braver than The Doctor. Do you know why?" When Rose shook her head, he continued "Because I said the one thing that even The Doctor was too afraid to say. I said 'I love you,' and no matter how old we get Rose, no matter how wrinkled and hunched over, that will never change…..Alright. I'm done." Rose had tears in her eyes again, but they were different now.

"John, I'm so sorry….I didn't mean to….I didn't know...I love you John" With that she leaned over and kissed him full on the lips. When she pulled away, she found herself looking deep into John's eyes. "We can make this work" she murmured.

"It won't be easy…but I promise Rose Tyler, I will never leave you again." With that, John pulled back onto the road, and the two of them headed off to London, setting the marker of their new life together.


	2. Chapter 2

******3 MONTHS LATER*******

Rose sat at the kitchen table sipping tea in her small apartment. It was approximately 6:30 AM, and she was beginning to wonder why anyone would get up at such an ungodly hour. She knew of course that she was only up this early so she could get to work. _After all….not all of us can just not have a job._ She thought to herself, and then immediately took the thought back. It wasn't John's fault that he didn't have a job. After all, it couldn't be easy to go from being a 900 year old timelord who never had to worry about normal things like a job, to a man who needed to support not just himself, but her as well. Rose let out a sigh and downed the rest of her tea. The shower in the bathroom turned on, signaling that John was also awake. _These walls are so thin…..ugh I hate this apartment_. Rose got up and switched on the faucet, rinsed out her cup, and turned it off. She then walked into her bedroom.

Her clothes littered the floor, and her bed was unmade, but she stepped over the mess and over to her closet. She pulled out a grey sweater and pulled it on over her T-shirt. She glanced in the mirror, checking her teeth and then walked back out into the hall. The shower was still running, and as she passed by the bathroom, she knocked on the door.

"John? I'm leaving, I'll see you later, alright?" John immediately spoke back

"Hold on a second." There was a sound of the shower curtain being pulled back and cupboards being opened. After a few seconds, the door opened, and John stood there, his hair white with shampoo suds, and a towel wrapped around his waist. He was soaking wet, and he smiled down at Rose.

"Have a good day love." His eyes gleamed, and Rose found herself smiling.

"I will, what are you doing up this early anyway?" John shrugged.

"I figured I could go look for a job again today and better early than never….no….wait…that's not right." Rose laughed.

"Alright, well good luck." She said. John leaned down and kissed her forehead, careful not to get her wet.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." Rose smiled, and grabbed her bag off of the kitchen table, and slid out of the apartment, and into the narrow hallway. Once there, she walked down the steps to the ground floor. She was just about to exit the building, when she heard a voice behind her.

"Rose!" She turned to see the landlord, Mr. Jenkins hobbling towards her. He was a elderly man, who, due to a heart attack he had a month prior, walked with a limp and a cane.

"Mr. Jenkins, I'm on my way to work, I don't exactly have time to talk right now."

"Well Rose you better make time. You still owe me last month's rent, and this month's is due next week. You say you're going to work but your payments don't show it!"

"Mr. Jenkins, I know I'm late on my payment, but you _know_ what my circumstances are, and you know I'm trying as hard as I can to-" Mr. Jenkins held up his hand and cut her off.

"I know Rose, and you seem like a nice girl, but I also know that you can't support two people on one salary. I know that you work for Torchwood, but how long do you plan on living like this? It's just a thought…." With that, Mr. Jenkins turned around and hobbled away. Rose ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Didn't he know that she had tried everything? That it was just as hard for her as he imagined it was?

It wasn't John's fault he couldn't find a job, and she knew that, but part of her mind still blamed him or part of it. Torchwood would love to have him, but in this world, The Doctor didn't exist. What would happen if he suddenly just showed up at Torchwood. Of course, he may not even be in their files, but Rose wasn't going to let him apply there until she found out. She pushed her way out of the building and into the crisp October air, her mind still on John.

Days like these, Rose sometimes had the fleeting wish that she had never met The Doctor, but of course, these thoughts were always crushed by her feelings for John. Things between them were constantly doing better and better, and their feelings growing stronger. Rose however, couldn't help feeling that something was missing, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Looking up, Rose saw that she had finally reached Torchwood. She pushed her way into the modern-looking building, and stepped into the elevator. She pushed the button for the tenth floor, and stood in silence as she rode up to the upper floors. The doors slid open, and Rose looked into the space that had become so familiar to her. Her office was cluttered with pictures of different monsters and aliens, most of which she had seen herself. She had the feeling most of her co-workers how she knew everything she did about them without all the training they had had. If they did wonder however, no one ever said anything to her.

Seeing her boss walking towards her, Rose forced a smile.

"Hello Rose, how are you this morning?"

"Not bad Megan, and how are you?" Megan was a tall, fair, very skinny woman, slightly older than Rose. She was known to do somewhat random, but funny things around the office. Megan smiled.

"Fantastic. Look Rose, I've got a new file here, this thing was seen outside of Cardiff about four hours ago. Any idea what it is?" She handed a photograph to Rose, showing a wispy ghost-like person. Rose studied the picture for a moment, and then pointed to a blur in the background.

"What's this thing?" Megan squinted

"It looks like a street lamp…an old fashioned one, one that runs on gas." Rose nodded and smiled.

"It's a Gelth. They sort of….feed….on gas. Was it seen near a funeral home, or a graveyard?" Megan nodded, and Rose continued, "You should get them out of there; they can inhabit the bodies and make then make them do their will, not exactly a good thing to be wandering around Cardiff." Megan let out a slow breath.

"Rose, you never cease to amaze me how you know all this…..care to let me in on the secret?" Rose shook her head.

"It's a really long story Megan, and I doubt you would believe it if I told you." Megan looked at Rose, her eyes pleading with her to tell her the story. Finally she shrugged.

"Whatever Rose, if you don't want to tell me, then don't, but it would be really nice to have more than one person with your knowledge." With that, Megan picked up the file and walked away, and Rose knew she was even more disappointed in her than she was letting on, if that was possible.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but when Rose left the Torchwood building, she was exhausted. Ever since she had talked with Megan that morning, all she could think about was The Doctor. The Gelth had been one of the first monsters she had ever seen with him. Of course, then he had had a different face. They had almost died together that night, but only when the maid had sacrificed her life, had they escaped.

Rose called a Taxi for her ride home, not wanting to walk home while so distracted. As the taxi pulled up to her apartment building, Rose paid the driver and stepped out. She realized, surprised at herself, that she was dreading walking into the apartment. She would rather live in her memories of the past than go into the future.

Immediately, Rose scolded herself for feeling that way, something she seemed to be doing a lot lately. It bothered her that she wasn't happy. She should be. She had a job, someone who loved her, and a home. Some people didn't even have that. However, her thoughts kept drifting to The Doctor. Where was he now? Was he thinking about her? Would she ever see him again? She guessed the answer to the last two questions was probably a no.

So distracted by her thoughts, Rose hadn't even noticed that she had climbed up to her apartment. She pulled the key out of her purse and slid it into the lock. Before she could even twist it, the door flew open, and there stood John, a warm smile on his face.

"Rose." Rose didn't know how he did it, but somehow in that one word she felt all the love and emotion he felt towards her.

"Well, look at you!" She kissed him on the cheek lightly. "What's the occasion? You never greet me at the door." John's smile grew even bigger and brighter, and Rose was reminded of The Doctor after he had saved a civilization, or defeated a Dalek.

"I got a job."


End file.
